-I haven’t said or written much about the emotions of the Warriors’ planned abandonment of Oakland because I’ve been writing about its inevitably for a few years, now.

Doesn’t mean the abandonment issues aren’t valid, and important to document.

Joe Lacob and Peter Guber can talk all about the 50-50 split in season-ticket-holders between East and West Bay–and I definitely believe them, as a Peninsula product myself.

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But that franchise has an East Bay spirit that survived and thrived in the face of so much awful basketball, and in many ways, I think that’s what fed it even more.

Fans keep showing up at Oracle not because the Warriors are ever any good–certainly not that. They’ve shown up because they want to be there when the Warriors finally get to that place, whenever it is, and they will make sure to enjoy themselves along the way.

Bad basketball. Great, rowdy crowds. Year after year.

That’s a special situation, some unique alchemy of Chris Cohan’s horrid stewardship, his marketing team’s skill (I give Robert Rowell some credit for that), and the Bay Area’s love of the NBA.

It was about a fan base empowering itself DESPITE OR BECAUSE OF a terrible owner, which seems counter-intuitive but it worked here, at least as far as the box-office reports tallied it up.

That’s why Lacob and Guber paid a record $450M for the Warriors, whether it was in a secret agreement with Cohan (as commissioner David Stern recountedand suggested, fascinatingly) or however it happened.

–FYI: I’ve tried to reach Larry Ellison for his possible reaction to Stern’s comments about Lacob securing an agreement directly from Cohan away from the auction, but have received no response.

But it’s also important to note: Ellison and any other person or group bidding above $400M surely would’ve planned to move the Warriors out of the East Bay, too.

Once the price got that high (and the main reason Cohan sold was because he knew the price could get that high), there was no way the Warriors were staying in Oakland.

The only way the Warriors are worth anything close to $450M is if they’re moved to a larger hub, with extravagant suites (and prices), and tied to an entertainment/residential development, also controlled by the Warriors owners.

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That wasn’t going to happen in Oakland. Just was not.

And if anything, the great Warriors fans caused this–their loyalty and passion showed Lacob, Guber, Ellison and others that this team, even without the luxury pieces and without high-quality performance, could draw 19,000+ night after night.

If you can import some of that, add in state-of-the-art luxury suites, tap into a higher level of sponsorships, and mix it all into an entertainment district in downtown San Francisco…

That’s the formula. There’s no way the spirit and soul of the crowd will be the same, transferred to an arena jammed with luxury suites… but that’s the trade off, at some point.

The old Warriors: Invisible Cohan, staying in Oakland, making irrational decisions based solely on short-term PR, consistently impressive crowd count and fan interest, with a grass-roots sensibility.

Cohan thought small and the Warriors acted small.

The new Warriors: Omni-present Lacob & Guber, constantly making pronouncements and promises, moving to San Francisco (either the declared site or Plan B or C), making huge decisions based on massive long-term plans, aiming for the highest strata of financing.

Lacob and Guber think and talk enormously–sometimes carelessly–and we’ll see how this turns out.

And we’ll see how these next five years at Oracle go–until the planned 2017 move.

This was inevitable. It’s what the NBA wants, it’s why Lacob and Guber bought the team, it probably will help the Warriors attract high-profile players (though probably not as much as the GSWs are currently saying).

And it’ll change who the Warriors are, no doubt. It has been special in the East Bay.

But it was not destined to last, once the weird, buoyant, impossible Oakland alchemy was dissipated.

Tim Kawakami

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so, the message is that the owners don’t care about the average fan or the long time loyal fans. It’s about their own ego, attracting corporate types who aren’t NBA fans, but willing to pay big bucks to be part of an event and sit in luxury boxes while the average long time fan gets priced out.

There is still a good chance this does not work out, but the message is clear on what the owner’s priorities are.

I would not put attracting free agents as being high on the list. Lets put good management in place and build a good team. Teams that build by signing high priced free agents rarely work out in any sport.

http://ihatemydvr.blogspot.com/ Bigmouth

Wow… Marcus nailed it.

DD

Oakland doesn’t equal the East Bay. Oakland is not even the “Capital” of the East Bay anymore. Not a job center, not a cultural hub. Even its airport is losing its most valuable tenants. I live in Walnut Creek (San Francisco transplant) – The Warriors are the Bay Area’s Basketball team. I never consider them the “Oakland Warriors”. When the A’s, Raiders, Warriors took home Oakland, my above comments were not same. But 40 years later, the Bay Area Metro has changed remarkably. San Jose (South Bay in General), Pleasanton/Dublin/Fremont, Concord/Walnut Creek/Orinda/Lafayette all higher in the pecking order.So moving the Warriors to the City (or even San Jose) makes complete sense. No insult necessary.

Same holds true for the A’s…The A’s are not the East Bay team. If the owners consider that true, then building a stadium in Oakland, Pleasanton, or Concord (my preference – Port Chicago Highway. Plenty of land, BART exists, 2 freeways) would be a no-brainer. The fact is that the A’s want to build a shopping mall with a stadium as an anchor tenant. And a shopping mall in San Jose is better than Oakland.

Fierce South

At least Oakland has the Warriors’ lone NBA championship (in the Bay Area) from way back in the late 70′s.

David Wood

I have great memories going to the arena as a kid, but this was inevitable. The Warriors in Oakland are like the lovable loser that everyone wants to root for. If the Warriors ever want to be a serious NBA team that competes every year, this is part of the equation. They need to get over their inferiority complex and if building a shiny new arena in SF is going to help, then so be it. This is pro sports- loyalty does not trump profit.

And Marcus comparing Seattle to the Warriors is completely ridiculous. A 25 minute BART ride is not the same as moving across the country…they’ll still be a BAY AREA team, which they always were.

Dom

While he’s at it, Marcus should probably follow up with an article about the Warriors abandoning Philly and SF as well. OMG were talking about a 15 mile move. Relax already, it will be OK.

By the way, what’s “an east bay spirit”? I’ll be sure to look for it next time I’m over there. However the east bay’s somewhat big, so any advice on the best place to go see it?

DaveOinSF

Actually, Oakland doesn’t even have the W’s lone NBA championship either. Though the Warriors were already playing regular season home games in Oakland, the 1975 finals were played at the Cow Palace.

J Canseco

Every time Lacob speaks into a microphone, a bunny dies.

Tim

Sorry DD you’re nuts. Oakland Airport is losing its “most valuable” tenants? You mean crappy ass United and its one flight to Denver? Southwest, Jet Blue and others took all of United’s business – that’s United’s problem, not Oakland’s.

And no sports teams are moving out to freeway suburbia east of the hills. One can certainly say the Warriors are the Bay Area’s team and not Oakland’s exclusively, but the A’s are Oakland’s team. The city will re-embrace them when the ownership group recommits to the city.

Fire Bob Fitzgerald

Its too bad TK that you have decided to reiterate MT’s position. His and now your take is offensive and completely inappropriate.

MT’s article is pure unadulterated hogwash and MT has no objectivity in regard to this situation and frankly is compromising his position as a reporter that a sports fan can trust. His bias in favor of Oakland is palpable.

There was nothing the Warriors could have done differently that would have mollified East Bay fans who are now going to have cross the Bay Bridge (just as San Francisco based fans have done for decades) to cheer for the Warriors.

MT do all bus drivers live in Oakland or just bus drivers who are Warriors fans? Why must bus drivers and their ilk who live in the West Bay have to be condemned to a life of crossing the Bay Bridge to an arena marooned in a sea of concrete in order to see the Warriors in person? And this says nothing of the poor bus driver living in San Jose who cheers for the Warriors, has kids, and wants to take them to see the Warriors too just like his Oakland based brethren.

To compare the Warriors move of less than 20 miles to the Supersonics’ “move” (assassination is more apt) is simply laughable.

Asserting that the Warriors were wrong to claim they were looking at all of their options when – according to MT – they weren’t shows that MT is better off as a sportswriter since he obviously has no idea how businesses must run especially when they are dealing with situations that cannot move forward absent dealing with local governments.

As someone who has lived in Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose (but still doesn’t have any soul like people in Oklahoma City and who doesn’t cheer as loud either according to MT) and who has commuted to see the Warriors from all of these cities (up to and including season tickets for multiple years when I lived in San Jose and had to fight my way up 880 at rush hour to see the Warriors) your take on this situation MT is offensive.

Your wife is correct: sometimes it is how you say it that matters. And, in this instance, your rampant sentimentality and romantic glorification of the Oakland based middle class fan means you are slamming all of the rest of the fans (this is called a negative pregnant).

BK

Lacob is trading in “we believe” shirts and a 120dB level for sweater vest and business meetings. Sorry SF, but we, the east bay people are crying the same way you did when the Niners left

JimmyJack

How come San Francisco is not freaking the f—out about the 49ers moving to Santa Clara?

earl monroe

Its like getting back together with someone you have divorced, remember the warriors were in San Francisco first. This all goes south if the Warriors dont start winning or if the tech sector busts, I like the moxie though

Italy415

I know this time of year most people have nothing to talk about but for real who freaken cares if they leave Oakland!!! Who in there right mind given that oppurtuity wouldn’t leave Oakland for SF.. People need to stop getting upset with the owners at least there spending money… If anything complain about the A’s and especially the Giants for not putting more money in there team then pocketing all the profits……ciao

EB

Dom and DD said it best, who gives a crap where they play as long as they win? You think that fan base, which all you reporters seem to think is all Oakland natives, wouldn’t have been going to games the last 20 years if they played in the City? The fact that the team happened to play in Oakland had nothing to do with the excellent fan support. The W’s belong to the entire Bay Area, so if you’re a true fan, you would go see them no matter where you lived or where they played.

Stop it with this ‘Woe is Oakland’ BS. If you won’t go 10 miles over a bridge, or take public transportation, to go to the new Arena, then you can’t really call yourself a W’s fan. And spare me with the “Let’s make sure every one acknowledges everyone, and if they don’t they’re classless and not showing they care.” Did everyone have to get up a suck up to Al Attles and Nate? Of course not, and neither of them would want it that way either. And if you agree that the Ws fans come from everywhere, why would specifically single out East Bay fans? It’s whiny, it’s petty, and it’s a waste of time. If they pull this off, and I’m definitely still in a wait and see mode, then nobody will remember or care about who didn’t acknowledge Al Attles or that nobody mentioned the fans from the East Bay.

Teekay

I haven’t been to a game in a few years because the arena area is a cesspool. Quite literally, you cross one en route to the stadium. It was just always an uneasant experience heading to the game. I’ll be glad when the team moves. Unfortunate that Oakland will lose revenue generated from games, but that city is just a miserable sad puddle of human suffering with larger worries.

Martina

“an end to the rollicking Oakland feel”

Those hardcore 10,000 Candlestick fans really created a rollicking feel at the ‘Stick, didn’t they? Do we miss that? Do we really wish that we could move back to the “Stick and get back to regular weekday games attended by 10,000 hardcore fans, as opposed to 40,000 fans of which 10,000 are supposedly “knowledgeable”?

Wake up, Oakland is a city in decline, and is probably the most mismanaged big city in California.

Stop living life through the rearview mirror, look ahead.

Tru

@DD “The A’s are not the East Bay team.”
Wow, you ARE an SF transplant. You are as deluded as they get. Wolff is an abomination. Were the Giants not SF’s team when they were going to SJ or Tampa? Get over your smug SF elitism.

Nipper

Oakland, who cares? Everyone wants to leave. My sister sure did!

2012 lets go!

inevitable. But any time lacob grabs the mic or does an interview he reeks of an elite douchness. The broken playoff promise, the look at me at Mully’s retirement, the I’m so smart with Bogut the 3rd best center in the league talk, etc etc. Ellison may have been just as callous with his expected move but I really dont like this Lacob guy. As far as bball is concerned he acts like he knows a whole lot more than I suspect he does. We’re another Curry or Bogut injury from being out of the playoffs. Looking at the playoffs this year, even without injuries it will be very difficult to supplant a 2012 playoff team or a talented team like Minnesota next year. Hopefully Lacob smartens up and stays the hell away from oracle for the next 5 years. Actually hopefully he doesn’t, I’d love to hear the boos rain down.

Is the pier 30-32 site really goin to happen? There seems to be tons of obstacles that everyone involved seems to gloss over. I still think the Giants location is a much better option.

Todd

Teekay,
Incredibly ignorant comment. If your only experience of Oakland is the short drive from the Bay Bridge to the Oracle (which is basically the entire industrial section of the city), then you need to get out of your house more. People could say the same thing of SF if their only experience was walking down Market St. through the Tenderloin.

While I support the move too, it doesn’t require you to make overbroad and incorrect generalizations about an entire city.

Lott

Hey Fierce South. Oakland did not win the lone championship. It was won in the City in 75 (not the late 70′s) at the Cow Barn. In addition, the parade was in the City (not Oakland) with the ceremony being held in Union Square.

the truth

Get real people Oakland is thriving more now then it has in years! There is a love for that city unlike any other and its dumb a$$es like yourselves who talk down about a city you know nothing about. This message board is the exact reason people are upset with the move we get treated as second class citizens and talked down to by the wine and cheese people in Sf. We are a blue collared hard working bunch of people who don’t live outside of our means or act like we are better then people. I invite all of you to go out to DTO or Jack London one night and try the restaurants or hit up some of the clubs(the layover is a fun spot) and I am sure a lot of your misguided beliefs about oakland will be changed…..I promise you lily white boys you wont get shot

Kitty Kat

It would be interesting if Larry Ellison buys a team and moves it in to the vacant Oracle arena, or San Jose. I have a feeling that the reason that Ellison did not make a big deal (i.e. sue) over the fact that the sale to Lacob & Cohan was rigged (Stern confirmed it) was because he has a covert promise from the league that they will let him buy another team and move it to where he wants. Another team in the Bay Area would be devestating to the clown posse of Lacob & Guber. Ellison is already a famous person, so he doesn’t need to buy a team so that everybody knows his name, like Lacob did. And Ellison would probably hire basketball people to run it, unlike Lacob, who wants to run it himself along with his son. Translation: Ellison’s team would probably be GOOD and would win, unlike Lacob’s terrible teams. Then we’d find out just how much Warriors love there is in SF, when half the fan base has a new team to root for.

And this Pier 30-32 project is SUCH a pipedream. Not only are the environmental advocates going to put up roadblocks, but the Giants are going to use their considerable clout to fight it by calling in all their civic allies. There is no way the Giants will support an arena that they do not control and from which they do not financially benefit. They’d be competing with the Warriors on so many fronts: parking, events, ad sponsorship dollars, etc. That is not what Larry Baer & Co have in mind. If the Warriors don’t want to build on the Mission Rock site, then the Giants will be an adversary, and a formidable one.

Lastly, Ed Lee is no Willie Brown. He doesn’t have the cult of personality or political skill necessary to ram a project like this through the gauntlet. He didn’t even want to be mayor! Does that sound like a guy who is going to fight to the death to get this project through all these considerable hurdles? The only time the Warriors will be in San Francisco in 2017 is when they are holding another of their over-the-top press conferences where Lacob will be making more empty promises.

If it was an Oakland team, then why not the “Oakland” Warriors? What goes around comes around. Can’t wait to see them back where they belong.

J-walk

What a great topic of discussion. I read this blog first and thought I would not like M.T.’s wright up after reading the comments. However, I have to say despite some poor analogies that have already been pointed out, I thought what he had to say was very poignant and true to the soul of the matter. Lacob and Gruber for all their big dreams and big promises, which I love by the way, have never fully respected what they have. Which is the heart of a city who adores them. Marcus’ analogy of leaving your girl cold turkey because a super hot one wants you was perfect. That’s basically what they did. You would only do that if you didn’t really love and respect your current girlfriend. Which Lacob and Guber didn’t. They could have broken the news to them a little nicer, with a little more respect for their feelings. I think that’s the core message Marcus was sending.

Of course now you have the Arizona D-back, Florida Marlins, etc. Traditionally that’s complete sh*t because until then every NL club was named after a city, even Montreal. It’s that kind of crap and the DH and inter-league play that has crapped on baseball.

Any way, Lacob and co are going to re-brand the whole wad. They’ll still be the W’s but just a lot pricier and slick….but still no heart to win.

Tony Hicks

Yes, the Warriors “abandoned” San Francisco. What a rich tradition they left and a touching bond with the San Francisco fans, forged over less than a decade (with much of that time spent playing in Oakland). I love hearing authoratative comments from people living in SF, or people living in Walnut Creek (the center of the East Bay universe for those with big enough bank accounts and serious shopping needs) who transplanted from SF, on how we should feel. Look, it’s a good business move and it was inevitable, but don’t tell people who grew up in the East Bay with the Warriors here their entire lives, how to react. And don’t defend it by smirking about how it’s only a few more miles away. That’s not the point – it’s that we, the fans who supported them when they’ve been so bad for so long, are being priced out of seeing the team we grew up loving in a live situation. It doesn’t matter what these condescending know-it-alls think they believe about Oakland not measuring up. It never mattered to us. In this situation, the Bay Bridge isn’t just 4-5 miles long.

oj mayo

I don’t all the back and forth. This is simple, really, in my opinion. There are two sides to this story… for general Bay Area residents, this move is inevitable, and more or less a positive… 20 miles away in a more beautiful, entertaining location. Can’t argue that.

But you also can’t argue that for the people of Oakland, this stings. Sure, the dubs are the Bay ARea’s franchise, but when they’re in your backyard, its different. Just like a local neighborhood restuarant… sure people come from all over town to eat there, but when its a two second walk from where you live and you and your neighbors identify with it, maybe the kid next door buses tables there with it, there is a little extra local pride. if the move is handled properly, the locals are happy for the neighborhood business when it’s able to move up and out to greener pastures–a tip of the cap, an appreciative nod, a promise to not forget old roots–these things don’t matter to outsiders, but for the locals it makes a difference.

so yes, biz is biz and profits always come first. thats easy to understand. but it should also to be understand that there is a special, local group of fans for whom this move is more sensitive.

MK

The only reason the team is called the Golden State Warriors is because it has always been embarrassed to admit it played in Oakland… The “Golden State” is California. Think people in Bakersfield say, “That’s my team!” Uh, I think they pull for the Lakers — just a hunch.

Once the move happens, get on with it — make them the SF Warriors and apologize to the people of Oakland for never acknowledging them for 40 years (despite Oakland being good enough for 4 World Series titles and 2 Super Bowl championships for the A’s and Raiders, respectively).

robert rowell

complete garbage. people from all over the bay area attended those pathetic excuses for basketball games over the years. not just oaklanders.

there silly excuse for a debate as to which city is better, is just that, silly. SF is the big brother to the rest of the metro areas in the bay, but it isn’t for everyone. let’s leave it at that. when you start bashing SF you’re bashing the bay area.

the W’s are the bay area’s team. let’s start there and move on. for god’s sake, there’s no crying in basketball.

Niners in 2012

Lacob and Guber couldn’t be any more unlikeable. When Lacob speaks I cringe, and then Guber talks I just shake my head. DBags. I like them as ruthless owners who want to win, but I would never want to hang out with these guys.

That Man

What is all the fighting about? Oakland is the Bay Area. SF is the Bay Area. So is San Jose. At least he isn’t trying to move them to Anaheim or something. Imagine Sonics or Kings fans. That is so much worse.
Most of us watch the games on TV anyways, so does it really matter all that much? The 3-8 games a year you go to will be either a little bit farther, or a little bit closer. You will still pay $10 bucks for a beer, and can still take BART to the game (with a little longer walk).

The only thing that matters is that the Warriors start winning. That is what the fans care about. If Lacob builds his dream arena but the Warriors still don’t make the playoffs every dang year, then he has failed, and he will get booed again. If he turns the ship around, gets some star players, and the Warriors start making the playoffs every year, then “hip hip, hooray”.

Russell Cross

Every other NBA franchise will not be complaining. They all fly into SF and stay and practice there as it is.

I live in Oakand but grew up in San Jose driving 3 hours round trip sometimes, not to mention the occasional Sacto roadie. This ain’t no big thing. If you give up on your team because it moved 12 miles away shame on you.

Eezap Skeezap

It looks like the main thing wrong with the Oakland Coliseum is that it isn’t in San Francisco. No escaping the notion that East Bay fans are being treated by all currently residing teams as a rest stop until a better location comes along. Tough to balance that idea with unconditional love for the Warriors, Athletics and Raiders. Amazingly, the Raiders were forgiven by many fans, even as the city council prostrated themselves to placate Al Davis. Hopefully the Coliseum complex can find new tenants, including perhaps a Larry Ellison owned NBA team or an NHL team. East bay hockey would be amazing, Raiders on ice! Good luck to the Warriors. If somehow this move helps their playoff dreams, go for it. I’ll settle for lottery magic and healthy ankles.

derezee

for all the correct criticisms of Chris Cohan as an owner, i think his absenteeism strengthened “our” fan psychosis that the Warriors were “our” team. the coaches changed, the players changed, the particular brand of box score failure changed, but we remained constant as did the energy with which we filled the Oakland Arena. in the absence of any visible owners we owned that team 41 nights a year. Lacob and Guber are pushing right back to the front of our consciousness the age old tenuous dynamic of pro sports. the team belongs to billionaires, into whose pockets we put our hard earned dollars for the right to cheer on millionaires. it’s not our team, but we were in a unique position to feel like it was for quite some time, and now the delusion is over.

3rdKing

warriors fans don’t even know where the team won their championship…lol

this franchise will mire in the dregs for decades…f#$#k the dodgers

3rdKing

Oakland will always have Oaksterdam

Slimman

Frankly, if they pull off making a state of the art arena at that site it will be gorgeous, the crown jewel of the NBA. Not quite the Sydney Opera House, but what a spot! I’m an east bay resident and I’m for it. I already ride BART to games anyway. Why should they have allegiance to Oakland? Most the people at the games are not actually from Oakland, they are from all over the bay area. The whole loyalty argument is bull****. If the Warriors move to SF, and are winning by the time they do, nobody is jumping ship.

I think this is a little different from the 49ers move, but I could see how people would disagree with that statement. Personally, I don’t feel like driving to the South Bay and paying double to see the 49ers play. As it stands I only go to one game a year anyway, so if I miss it no huge loss, I can just watch on TV. I also don’t think they should be able to call themselves the San Francisco 49ers if they play in Santa Clara/San Jose. The Golden State Warriors, the New England Patriots, or the Arizona Cardinals can get away with it, but last time I checked Santa Clara was NOT San Francisco. I hope the city makes a stink and does not allow them to use the name when they leave.

As for the Warriors, I go from anywhere between 5-15 games a year on individually purchased tickets. The last year of Cohan’s reign I boycotted and went to zero, and this last year I only went to one game early on, as I was sick of rewarding failure and watching a crap product. Even if Lacob is spending a little too much time in front of the cameras for my taste, I have to say I like the effort and the willingness to take risks and make big moves to make the club better. It looks like the Warriors have finally turned a corner to me.

Slimman

If Lacob fires Bob Fitzgerald and replaces him with Greg Papa and then does a disappearing act I won’t be able to thank him enough; the Warriors cultural transformation will be complete.

NewArena

Fans of Oakland who are very knowledgeable and dedicated to this team are going to feel washed away like trash. Sure it would be great marvel in a new financed arena, however you need to wow free agents and players.

The fact that this team might move to san francisco doesn’t really mean a whole hill of beans. Most of the current players like David Lee don’t even live in Oakland anyhow and live outside the unappealing digs of oakland.

Players don’t come to the warriors because of the following list which doesn’t have any connection with the appeal of having a new arena in such a city as san francisco which they would think and hope and pray would lure big free agents to come and play there:

1) warriors have been one of the teams laughed at by fans for 20 years

2) warriors don’t have owners that put up or shut up

3) warriors are the only organization that can have a retirement ceremony of a jersey botched

4) players don’t want to come her because of taxes

5) players don’t want to come here because they aren’t a team the nba and david stern want to promote

6) the league and the refs don’t respect the warriors

7) the warriors are in existence only because they provide an easy win for the real elite teams

8) the warriors produce nothing but guards that aren’t tough

9) the warriors continue to get hurt because of soft players

10) and the warriors hire people that apologize for their horrid mistakes

http://www.trappedingoldenstate.com Trapped in Golden State

I think that no matter your views that most of of the fan base will make the trip. The best part of this conversation/debate/bitch fest/celebration is that it fully illustrates the passion everywhere around the bay…it’s too bad that it was only fully unleashed in unison once(2007) since ’94…either way the new arena will be packed but it will take a few years and a couple playoff appearances to get this thing back up to full bore…Hope to see everyone in 2013 and 2017 but I understand everyone who’s putting their foot down. Embracing the passion, dedication and unfortunately the torture is why trappedingoldenstate.com exists…go warriors and go dub nation!!!

Oakland/east bay redidents need to stop thinking the team belongs to them, that they are the loud fans there, yadda yadda yadda. The Raiders and A’s are proof. Two great franchises, both with so much history, yet both are struggling to sell (raiders selling out this year is not proof). This includes me, btw (support ALL B.A. teams). Warriors are only basketball in town and they benefit from it.

I sense that there are those “fans” who have/disliked every move the team has done since Lacob has been in charge, only because he isn’t Larry Ellison. Which is ok, because HE BEAT ELLISON. Ellison supposedly came in with a higher offer but that was after the bidding had ended, based on some reports. Others have reported that Lacob eschewed the auction process and offered Cohan $450Mill straight up. Well, he beat the system. If Ellison had done the same thing you same folk would have commended the savior for being so smart.

And we like to consider ourselves the best fans in the NBA? Pathetic.

Navigator

As someone who gew up in Oakland, lives in the East Bay and is familiar with Oakland’s charming neighborhoods, great restaurants, magnificent theaters like the Fox, Paramount, Grand Lake, Oakland’s great attractions like the Oakland Zoo, Oakland Museum, Chabot Space Center, Lake Merritt, Jack London Square, Old Oakland, Uptown, Chinatown, Mormon Temple, Greek Orthodox Church, Christ the Light Cathedral, Art Murmur, Children’s Holiday Parade, Art & Soul Festival, Eat Real Festival, great hiking, magnificent topography and views from peaks like the 1700 ft Grizzly Peak, and much more, I coudn’t just sit back and read ignorant comments from anti-Oakland who don’t know what they’re talking about. These ignorant people drive through Oakland on the freeway and think they know the city. These people are so shallow and pretentious that I’ll bet you that when they patronize many places in Oakland they think make themselves believe that they’re somewhere else. If they go to Zachary’s on College Ave. they thi k they’re in Berkeley. When they go to Fenton’s on Piedmont Ave., they think they’re in the city of Piedmont. These people from SF and Walnut Creek are ignorant elitists who don’t have a clue about Oakland’s rise as a city. They’re just like the ignorant rich guys from LA who disrespect Oakland. Who in the World would want to be a fan of a team with this type of ignorant and bigoted fanbase. Oakland is far better off growing organically as it has been with new restaurants, pubs, art galleries, clubs and small businesses rather thanbe part of such a snobbish ignorant disrespectful team and fanbase. The Walnut Creek gentleman who made some ignorant comments about Oakland on this board is extremely ignorant and foolish. If this is a typical Warrior’s fan attitude about Oakland why in the World would any Oaklander put himself in a position to be in an Arena filled with these type of ignorant individuals?

KW

I think you’re right Tim. The Warriors will lose their soul. That is probably the only think that might keep them in Oakland. But Oakland has bigger fish to fry. There needs to be more investment in REAL businesses, education, and infrastructure in the city. They paid a billion dollars to Al Davis to keep the Raiders in Oakland and Oakland is probably worse now than it was then. Oakland needs to invest in it’s REAL economy, it’s citizens, businesses, infrastructure and people then they will have no problem getting any sports team they want. But let’s be real, NBA basketball on the waterfront is a lot more attractive than anything being offered in Oakland right now.

http://www.robertphoenix.com dominmatrix

Invest in a real economy? The port of Oakland gets tax breaks that would make you shake your head. So does the Oakland Center, built by the late Walter Shorenstein. If they taxed them accordingly, they could easily fund any damned stadium they want.

As far as new manufacturing and industry goes, forget it. That’s all gone to China.

Why do you think they have Jean Quan as mayor? Because they’re going to try to get the Chinese to invest in Oakland. The only problem with that, is that the Chinese will employ their own people and operate at a seriously reduced tax rate.